Direct observation of the 2-fluorenylnitrene and 4-methoxyphenylnitrene reactions with water using picosecond Kerr-gated time-resolved resonance Raman spectroscopy

A picosecond Kerr-gated time-resolved resonance Raman examination of the 2-fluorenylnitrene and 4-methoxyphenylnitrene reactions with water to form the singlet 2-fluorenylnitrenium and 4-methoxyphenyl-nitrenium ions is presented. Photolysis of 2-fluorenyl azide and 4-methoxyphenyl azide in mixed water/acetonitrile solvents led to the formation of transient species within a few picoseconds.